It was nearly noon on Friday, and Larry Schueler had been waiting for more than an hour in his truck to board the Anderson Island ferry from the mainland terminal in Steilacoom. He had to get there early. If he missed this ferry, the next one wouldn’t come until 2:45 p.m.
Schueler, who has been frequenting Anderson Island since 1968, remembers a time when a nine-car ferry would shuttle residents and visitors to and from the mainland. Over the decades the ferry grew in size to accommodate more traffic. Today Pierce County runs one vessel more than two dozen times a day morning to night during the spring, winter and fall months, according to its online schedule. A second ferry runs in the peak summer months on weekends and other high-traffic days. Each vessel can hold up to 54 cars and 250 people. The ferries also visit nearby Ketron Island a couple of times a day.
Despite a 64% increase in population growth on Anderson Island since 2015, Pierce County doesn’t plan to add any additional runs or ferries…